Katherine Pitchiner
by Katherine Pitchiner12
Summary: Katherine has lived a peaceful life with the Guardians, her life full of magic and dreams. She had never known who her parents were or why they left her to live with the Guardians. But one day she finds out the bitter truth that the Guardians had been keeping from her all her life...


_Katherine Pitchiner_

_Chapter 1_

Elaine rushed up the frozen steps of the large work shop that she had admired for so long as a child. She looked around to make sure no one was watching her as she knocked on the huge wooden doors, keeping the baby she held close to her. The loud booming of the metal knockers on the wooden doors echoed around her, after a minute that seemed to last a year a giant brown and white haired yeti answered the door. The yeti looked puzzled at finding a woman with a baby in her arms standing at the doors. Elaine noticed his puzzled looked and quickly stated her business.

"I have come to see North, it's an emergency! Is he home?" Elaine stated making it sound urgent. The yeti said something that Elaine couldn't understand, but she knew enough of the yeti's language to understand that he was telling her to come inside. She steeped through the big doors, astonished at the size of the workshop. The yeti said something else in a gruff voice and walked off, Elaine guessed that it meant stay put. So she did, tending to the baby's blankets that it was wrapped in.

After a minute or two there came a loud bang of doors and someone talking. Elaine instantly recognized the voice as Nicholas St. North's. Her thoughts were soon confirmed as a tall, wide man with a long white beard turned the corner to see who was disturbing his work. North wore the typical cassock attire, just as he had done his entire life. Elaine felt a sudden weight lift from her shoulders when she saw the old cassock, it had been several decades since they had last meet.

"Know who could be coming here at this time of nigh-" North stopped in the middle of his sentence, beaming at who he saw in front of him. "Elaine! My darling it's been years, what are you doing here?" North inquired excitedly as he went to embrace the young woman who had once played in his home as a young child. But he stopped short once again, looking down at the tiny baby that was wrapped tight in Elaine's arms. "And who might this be?"

"This is Katherine… Katherine Pitchiner" Elaine answered, looking at her feet to avoid North's gaze.

"Elaine… what happened?" North sounded worried and scornful at the same time.

"Look, North, please let me explain. But first can we get by a fire or something? I'm freezing."

"Yes of course my dear. Phil, go get something warm to drink would you?" North shouted to the yeti named Phil as he escorted Elaine to the sitting room where there was already a fire ablaze. Elaine took off her jacket and wrapped Katherine in it, laying her on the couch so that she could continue to sleep.

Tiny elves clad in the most unusual cloths made up of worn out socks and bright red and greens came baring eggnog and freshly baked chocolate chip cookies. They clumsily served Elaine and North, helping themselves as well to the refreshment.

"Thank you Dingle, you may go know" North waved off the tiny elves and they bowed to him, backing away while tripping over themselves. "Know, Elaine. Might you please explain to me how you came to bear the child of such a man" North asked as he made himself comfortable in the chair across from Elaine, giving her a quizzical look.

"North, I'm so sorry… but I fell in love with Pitch. I don't know how, I just did. But this is not the time to tell that story. I'm here on urgent business, it's about Katherine. She can't stay with me, it's to dangerous. Surly you understand, don't you?" Elaine searched for a sign that showed that North understood, and surly enough he did.

"Of course I understand Elaine, and I will be glad to do whatever I can to help you." North reached out and put her delicate hands in his.

"Thank you North" Elaine squeezed his hand, trying to hold back the tears that were about to trickle down her cheek. "I'm really sorry, but I couldn't let Pitch turn her soul black. He even told me he had plans for her, it was too much for me to handle. I thought that he had changed but I guess I was wrong…

"North please, I beg you with all of my heart to take care of Katherine. Let her grow up free, full of wonder, hope, and dreams. Let her grow up to learn how I did as a child. I just can't have her growing up around Pitch." Elaine sighed and let a tear trickle down her cheek. North wiped it away and lifted her chin so that she was looking at him.

"Elaine, I would do anything for you. I will gladly keep Katherine safe. I am also a Guardian, it is my job. Besides, I'm sure the others would be equally happy to keep Katherine safe as well." North chuckled and went to the sleeping Katherine. He picked her up and held her in his arms, smiling at her and remembering the Katherine he knew so long ago.

"Thank you North, you have no idea how much this means to me" Elaine said as she came to stand beside North. "When the time is right, tell her all she needs to know. Including how much I love her. But please, don't ever let him take her." Another tear fell and she took Katherine in her arms for the last time. "I love you, Katherine" Elaine whispered in the ear of the baby, hugging her tight.

After another moment or two, Elaine handed Katherine back to North. Wiping her tears from her eyes and regaining her composure, she threw her jacket back on. "Pitch doesn't know I'm here, I have to get back before he finds out where I've been. Thank you so much North, is there any way I can repay you?"

"Elaine you are family, there is no need to repay me. Just be safe. I promise I will do everything I can to keep Katherine safe and away from Pitch" North hugged Elaine for the last time, and she was on her way.

Elaine used shadow travel that Pitch had taught her to get home so quickly. Pitch was waiting for Elaine once she got back from North's workshop, he knew something was wrong.

"Where did you go Elaine?" Pitch inquired as soon as she was out of the shadows. "Where is Katherine?".

"I was out visiting my family to show them Katherine, and they insisted she stay the night with them" Elaine tried to make herself sound confident, and as if the subject was un-important. But the confidence didn't last long, one of the fearlings had apparently followed Elaine and saw what she had done. The fearling told Pitch everything, and as soon as he had heard that Katherine was left to live with the Guardians he looked livid.

"You left Katherine with the Guardians!" Pitch raged, furiously grabbing Elaine and pinning her up against one of the cave walls.

I-I'm sorry, but I wasn't going to let my child grow up in such an environment" Elaine sobbed, trying to free herself from his grip. It was a useless struggle though.

"You took my daughter away from me." Pitch grabbed her neck, slowly squeezing the life out of her. "You betrayed me."

"Please! Pitch, I love you. But I just couldn't" Elaine managed to squeak.

"I will get her back" Pitch said with a deadly calmness, though Elaine could still see the anger growing in his eyes. Pitch squeezed even harder, Elaine couldn't take it anymore.

"Please… at least wait till she's old enough. Let her decide her own destiny" Elaine managed to say, sinking to the floor.

"… Fine, but only because I care for her. You, however, are dead to me" With that Pitch gave one last squeeze, and Elaine was gone.

Chapter 2

Soon after Elaine left North's workshop, leaving behind her new born baby Katherine, North decided to call the other Guardians to break the news. North set down the still sleeping Katherine by the fire as he went to go call the others. He alarmed the yeti's that guests will be coming soon and to make the refreshments while he pulled the alarm and sent out the colorful waves of aurora arboreal across the skies of the world.

It didn't take the Guardians long to assemble. They all hurried over to North's workshop as soon as they could to see what the problem was. The Guardians only assembled when the children of the world where in danger, or if Pitch was making a nuisance of himself. So they were all surprised when they came to find North holding a new born in his arms, slowly rocking it.

"What… is that?" Bunnymund cried as he spotted the baby in North's arms, a look of horror in his face.

"Shh! She's sleeping, don't rouse her. Come, and let us sit by the fire as I try my best to explain our situation at hand." North ushered them all into the sitting room.

The tiny elves served the Guardians and they all sat down to listen to what North had to say about the baby in his arms, there curiosity growing to a breaking point.

"Know, does everyone remember Katherine's granddaughter Elaine? Yes? Well, this is her daughter… Katherine Pitchiner." A look of shock came over everyone's face, even one of Toothina's fairy's fainted onto the floor.

"What? You don't mean that this is… No it can't be!" Toothina had a shocked expression.

"Whoa whoa whoa, you meant to tell us that this is Elaine and Pitch's daughter?" Bunnymund sounded outraged at the thought.

"Yes, this is their daughter." North said as he calmly laid the baby back down on the couch closest to the fire.

"Why is she here" Jack asked, leaning over to get a better look at the baby.

"Ahh, know there's the question of the night. Elaine brought her not even an hour ago, leaving her to live with us. She didn't want Katherine to grow up with Pitch, she was scared that Pitch was going to try and force Katherine to help him spread fear and even worse, blacken her soul forever." North looked down at the baby, and then back to the others to see their response.

Sandy floated over to the baby as well, a worried look on his face. He knew more than the others of the danger at hand. Pitch had lost his entire family before, and though he finally found his daughter, Emily Jane, she had disowned him from her life. Surly Pitch was not about to lose another daughter, and would most likely come after the young girl. Though the others didn't know as much as Sandy did, they did know how much danger Katherine could be in.

"Elaine said to never let Pitch get her, and I will stick to my promise. But I need your help to protect her from Pitch, and to help her grow up safe." North seemed almost to be begging the others to help him.

"As Guardians it is our duty to keep the kids of the world safe, besides, we would do anything to help out Elaine." Toothina picked up Katherine and cradled her in her arms. Everybody crowded around the baby; it had been a long time since anyone had seen a baby. At that moment a bright light filled the room, illuminating everything the light touched. It was the moon, shining in through the skylight in the roof.

"Ah! Manny! I see you have heard the news?" North and the others walked to where they were directly under the skylight so that Tislar Lunar could look down on the baby.

"Yes I have Nicholas, and it deeply troubles me just as it does all of you. Elaine was bright to bring young Katherine to live with you, for Pitch would surly harm her. That is why you must never let Pitch take Katherine away, or let Katherine go away with Pitch. It would only end badly." Tislar said through a moon beam who flashed out the message to the Guardians.

"We will do our best to keep Katherine out of Pitch's hands. We will raise Katherine like she is our own, and will teach her all we have to offer." North said valiantly as the rest shouted in agreement, but not loud enough to rouse Katherine.

"Good, I trust that you will keep our dear Katherine safe and out of harm. So I grant our young Katherine a gift to help her grow up well, and also test her when she is ready. I grant her the gift of magic so that she may learn from all of you, so that she may also one day help protect the children of the world." The moon light shifted to where it was only shining on Katherine. For the first time in a while, Katherine opened her eyes from a very long sleep. She looked a bit dazed at all the bright lights and people surrounding her, but after a moment of blinking and looking in turn at each Guardian she began to laugh. It was a joyful laugh and she reached her arms up out at the moon, trying to grab the moon beams.

Suddenly a blue dazzling dust came floating down from the sky and rained onto Katherine. But as it touched the young baby, it dissolved into her skin. It did not seem to hurt her; she simply giggled and tried to grab at the blue dust. After a moment or two the dust stopped falling and left a sparkle in Katherine's eyes.

"Guardians, take care of Katherine. I will be watching." Tislar Lunar said one last time before he left the skylight. As soon as he was gone Katherine calmed down a little, still a bit tired from her nape. She grabbed North's long white beard and snuggled up in it. North laughed at the baby snuggled up in his beard, but didn't make any effort to try to remove her.

"So I guess this means we will be able to teach her how to work our magic?" Jack asks, snickering a little at the baby snuggled up in North's beard.

"I suppose so, we will have to wait and see until she grows up enough." North replied trying not to move his beard too much so that no hairs would be ripped out.

"I suppose we should let her sleep, she must be tired after a day like this. North, we will be back soon to check in on Katherine." Toothina kissed Katherine on the forehead and flew off into the night back to her palace. Bunnymund, Sandy, and jack did the same. However Jack didn't leave, he stayed and talked with North about what to do as she grows up.

North had the yetis set up a room for Katherine and North put her to bed, kissing her on the forehead goodnight. Katherine refused to let go of Norths beard for a long while, but she soon grew tired and let go taking a few strands of hair with her. North chuckled as he walked out of the room, rubbing his sore beard. After that Jack and North started to discuss what they should do as Katherine grew up, and what they might teach her. So they decided that each Guardian would take turns each week teaching Katherine about their centers and how to use their powers. They would also take a week and have the yetis teach her the basics of her education.

However, as they discussed Katherine's future she was busy dreaming. Or at least she remembered it as a dream. Pitch had been watching the Guardians with his child, and he was livid. He wanted to storm in and take back Katherine at that very moment, but he was bound to Elaine's final words. However, he had to hold his child one more time before he left her to live with the Guardians. So while North and Jack where talking, Pitch snuck into Katherine's room. Katherine woke up as soon as Pitch emerged from the shadows, though just a baby she could sense when someone was there. Pitch strolled over to Katherine's crib and looked down on the child. He felt a sharp jab of pain go threw him as he looked at his daughter, he had already lost one daughter and he didn't want to lose another. He cursed Elaine for taking his daughter away from him, she was a fool for thinking she could ever hide their daughter from him.

Katherine stared back up at Pitch, who's yellow and silver eyes shined in the night. She remembered her face as her fathers and instantly started to smile and tried to grab at him. Pitch smiled and lifted Katherine out of her crib and cradled her close to his chest, Katherine instantly snuggled up into his robes and clung to him. Pitch was reminded of how Emily Jane used to do the same thing as a child; a pang went through him and pushed aside the memory. He didn't want to miss out on Katherine's child hood.

"I promise, even if it's the last thing I do, I will come for you. I will never leave you, Katherine" Pitch whispered into Katherine's ears as he rocked her. Katherine stared up into her father's eyes for the last time in years. Pitch kissed Katherine on the forehead and laid her back in her crib. He couldn't bear to stay any longer, he brushed Katherine's cheek and diapered back into the shadows.

Katherine always remembered seeing Pitch's face, however she only thought it was a dream. She grew up always seeing his face in her dreams, but never knew who it was.

_Chapter 3_

It didn't take long for all the Guardians to decide what they were going to teach Katherine. They had worked out a schedule to where Katherine was with each Guardian every other week, and she also had a week to learn her basic studies. Bunnymund insisted that he would be in charge of what Katherine would study when she was learning the basics, no one objected considering Bunnymund was the last member of the Pookan race. The Pooka's where one of the smartest race's that ever lived, and if anyone knew what was best for Katherine it was Bunnymund. So Bunnymund compiled a list of things that Katherine would learn as she grew up and handed it to the yetis to teach her.

For the first couple of years though Katherine mainly stayed with North until she was old enough to grasp her basic study's. She started learning her basic study's by the age of four and advanced rapidly. Katherine was not like other children, she had a gift for knowledge and was always anxious to learn. By age six Katherine started to learn with the Guardians. The first Guardian she learned with of course was North, she had always looked forward to learning with the Guardians. Growing up she admired what the Guardians did and dreamed often of the day she would start her training.

North started off by teaching Katherine the magic of wonder, his center. It was easy for Katherine to understand since she had always saw the wonder in everything. It was one of her many gifts. After North taught her the magic of wonder, he taught her to open her mind to creation, new ideas, and that nothing was impossible. Katherine loved to create new toys and inventions with North, she even created most of her own toys and even helped create some of the Christmas toys. She was overjoyed to finally help North, and looked forward to the day that he might take her along on his slay ride to deliver Christmas presents.

The next week she was with Bunnymund. She had only been to Bunnymunds warren a couple of times and was not sure what she was going to learn. Katherine had always loved the colorful tiny eggs that ran around the warren, she had always wondered how Bunnymund got all the eggs painted in time. But this week she was going to learn about hope, Bunnymunds center. Bunnymund taught her about how to how to sense and manipulate hope in people. He even taught her the importance and meaning of hope. It took a while for Katherine to learn how to sense and manipulate hope in others, but once she got the hang of it she made sure no one became sad and gave them new hope even when they thought there was nothing left to hope for. Bunnymund was astounded at how fast she had learned about hope and couldn't wait to teach her again.

Jack was the next in line to teach Katherine. Katherine was excited about learning with Jack, she had always spent her days playing with Jack when she was younger and still hung out with him when she wasn't learning. She had always dreamed of learning how to fly with the wind, and bringing snow days to anxious children. But Jack's first lesson was how to have fun, which seems simple enough. Jack taught Katherine of the importance of fun and how it can be used to fight fear. Of course Katherine learned fast, and surprised Jack at her speedy advancements. Before the week was over Katherine knew everything she needed to know about the importance of fun and was ready to advance to the next level. But Jack insisted that Katherine take a little break from her study's and to just have fun with him. Katherine gladly went along with Jack with no objections, though she was a little disappointed. She was so eager to learn how to use magic like Jack, but she had to wait until the next time she was with Jack. So Katherine let it go and spent the rest of the week messing around with Jack and having fun with the children in Jack's home village.

This week it was Queen Toothina's turn to teach Katherine. Katherine was a bit nervous though, Toothina was the closest thing to a mother Katherine had. She wanted to make Toothina proud, so she focused as best she could. Toothina of course taught about the importance of memory's, and how they help the people of the world remember what is important when they need it most. This concept was of course easy to understand for Katherine, and took her no time at all to learn about. But there was something that kept bugging Katherine, if Toothina could help people remember what was important then maybe she could help Katherine remember who her parents were. The thought bugged Katherine all week, and finally one day she couldn't contain herself anymore.

"Um, Toothina?" Katherine asked, feeling scared that she might not get the answer she was looking for.

"Yes Katherine? Are you okay, you look pale." Toothina sounded concerned as she flew closer to Katherine.

"Yes, i'm fine. But I was just wondering, um, that if you could help people remember what is important in life that maybe you could help me remember who my parents were?" Katherine felt ashamed for asking such a question, that she was making herself a nuisance by asking. Katherine nervously fidgeted with the necklace around her neck, waiting for Toothina to reply. Toothina had turned pale for a second, she had feared this conversation for a long time. But luckily she was prepared, and knew exactly how to handle the situation.

"Katherine, i'm sorry. But when you were found on North's steps, you were just a day old at the most. There would be no memory of your parents in that short amount of time,... Please Katherine try to understand. If I could help you I would, i'm so sorry." Toothina knelled down and hugged Katherine. Katherine returned the hug, holding back the tears that threatened to spill over her cheeks.

"It's okay, I was only wondering. Besides I already have the greatest family anyone could ever ask for right here." Katherine and Toothina shared a smile and Toothina twirled Katherine up in the air. Katherine laughed and went on with her day like nothing even happened. But that night Katherine silently cried herself to sleep. The pain of longing to know who her real family was was overwhelming, there was nothing that could be done to help Katherine find out who her parents were. She felt helpless, she only wanted to know who her parents were.

After an hour or two, Katherine fell asleep to tired to cry anymore. That night she dreamed again of the face with glowing eyes, but they where comforting to Katherine. The worries of her parents left her mind completely and the face with glowing eyes filled her. The face seemed so familiar, but Katherine could never figure out who it was. She wished she knew, and why it made her happy inside but also at the same time a little scared.

The face with glowing eyes was pushed to the back of her head, because this week Sanderson Mansnoozie was teaching Katherine. Katherine was bubbling with excitement and curiosity. She had always loved dreams, and would have always preferred to be asleep dreaming than to be awake. She couldn't wait to learn how to create her own dreams and control them. But this week's lesson was of course over the importance of dreams. Sandy explained the importance of dreams through his own sign language, explaining that he gives the people of the world pleasant dreams and fights to keep the nightmares away so that people may be happy and pursue their dreams. The concept was easy for Katherine to understand, but one word caught Katherine's attention. Nightmares. If there was anything that interested Katherine more than good dreams, it was nightmares. She was never told much about Pitch and his nightmares for good reason, but she couldn't help her curiosity. She loved learning anything she could about Pitch, there was something about him that seemed almost familiar to Katherine. Though she kept that a secret because she knew the Guardians would hit the ceiling if they found out.

So Katherine listened intently as Sandy explained the dangers that Pitch and his fearlings imposed on the people of the world, and how he was a treacherous man not to be messed with. Sandy even talked a little about how he and Pitch had fought over the years. But Sandy always made it a point to say that Pitch was a man not to be taken lightly, hoping to scare Katherine away from Pitch. But it only made Katherine even more interested, but she just nodded her head in agreement as to not make Sandy suspicious.

Later that week Sandy took Katherine with him to make one of his nightly rounds, showing her what she would be doing the next time she was with Sandy. Katherine grew even more excited at the thought of being able to control dreams. She could barely wait! But she had to wait until the next time she was with Sandy.

The Guardians were all astounded at how well Katherine had did this past month, but they were also worried. As Katherine grew up, she wanted to know more about her parents. This posed a problem for the Guardians and they needed a solution soon.

_Chapter four_

This week Katherine was learning her basic studies that Bunnymund had put together for her. This week's lesson was the power of the phrase "I believe, I believe, I believe." This phrase had a stronger power than anyone realized, it had the power to make someone fly, the power to bring dreams into reality, anything you could imagine it could do. That is why Ombric the wizard, North's old tutor, had taught this as his first lesson. It was the key to everything magic, and opened multiple doors. So she practiced all week repeating the phrase and watching magical things happen. Katherine even used the phrase once saying she believed a book could sprout wings and fly to her hands. It of course happened and she was exhilarated.

North laughed as he watched Katherine learn the meaning of the phrase. It reminded him of old times with Ombric and the children of Santoff Clausen. One day Katherine played a trick on North and made his beard grow ten times it's normal length. It made North trip over his own feet, and he laughed until his rib's hurt. He had the yetis trim it back to it's normal length, and Katherine joined his laughter.

But when Katherine wasn't practicing her study's she was reading. North had an entire sector of his workshop dedicated to books left behind from Ombric. Mr. Qwerty was still his librarian and helped Katherine find books that she could understand for her reading level, but Katherine read so much her reading level was above average. So Katherine could read practically any book she wished to, but North had instructed Mr. Qwerty to keep Katherine away from the books that had anything to do with Pitch.

So Mr. Qwerty hid the books that mentioned anything about Pitch. Though Katherine searched without anyone knowing, but failed every time. She thought it was a bit odd that North had books over every single subject you could think of, including the anatomy of grass, but nothing about Pitch. So she gave up for the time being and went to read in the secret room behind the book cases. She curled up in one of the hanging chairs that crowded the room and began to read the tales of Atlantis by Ombric who was the last surviving member of Atlantis.

The book didn't truly interest Katherine, but she had made a promise to herself that she would read every book in North's library. So she went ahead and got one book out of the way at a time. She enjoyed every single one she read, but some of them were not truly interesting like the anatomy of grass. However some of the most interesting to Katherine where the ones about different languages. Ombric had known almost every language known to animal and man, and wrote books on learning the different languages.

For the moment she was only able to learn insect dialect, but grew more advanced as she learned each different language. She was currently learning fire fly dialect, and went outside almost every night to practice. The fire fly's were very nice, and gratefully helped her practice. By the end of the week she was able to speak fluent fire fly.

The Guardians were surprised when they found out she could speak the dialect of insects, they thought she would only be able to learn that at at least ten years of age. But at the age of six was almost outstanding! Bunnymund was especially proud and went back to advance all her courses.

* * *

One day after finishing up this weeks study, Katherine decided to go read again. She grabbed the first book she saw and plopped down on the couch in front of Norths fire. This time the book was about the stars and the history behind each constellation. Katherine wasn't completely disappointed, she really loved the stars and had always found them interesting.

Katherine was only a quarter through the book when Jack Frost flew into the room and snatched the book out of Katherine's hands, careful not to loose her page. Jack looked at the book like it was something foreign to him.

"The stars and there history? How are you not bored to death reading this?" Jack asked lifting an eyebrow at Katherine. Katherine rolled her eyes.

"Unlike you, I like to read. Besides if you get the right book it can be fun to read." Katherine laughed as she stood up and tried to snatch the book back. But Jack just held it above her head and grinned.

"A book? Fun? Ha! As if."Jack teased as he held the book higher above his head, snickering as he did.

"Yes!... For example... fairy tales... are... fun!" Katherine explained in between hops as she tried to grab the book back. "Ugh! I will climb you if I have to."

Jack laughed as Katherine grabbed onto him. She wrapped her arms around Jacks mid section and tried to pull him down to the ground. They both laughed as they toppled to the ground, Katherine wrestling Jack for the book. After a couple moments of struggling Jack finally put the book back in Katherine's reach and she snatched it up.

Katherine found her place again and marked it with her favorite leather bookmark North gave to her a couple Christmas's ago. It had the word 'Magic' inscribed into it in silver with the elves language.

"Ha ha, I guess fairy tales can be fun sometimes." Jack laughed as he hoped up from the ground, pulling Katherine with him. "But how about we go have some real fun!" Jacks eyes light up and a devilish smile creeps across his face. Katherine puts her book down and returns the devilish smile. If there was anything she loved more than reading it was going on adventures with Jack.

Jack took her smile as a yes and threw her onto his back. Katherine clung onto Jack as he flew out of north's workshop and into the chill air of the North Pole. Katherine laughed as they flew into the clouds. They passed clouds shaped like animals and kingdoms. They surprised birds as they past, leaving an icy breeze behind them.

Jack flew low to the sea, freezing some of the waves as he passed them. Katherine stretched out her hand and let it skim the surface of the waves.

"When your old enough i'll teach you how to fly, and then you'll be able to fly by my side with me." Jack shouted over the sound of the wind. Katherine imagined flying by Jacks side, not having to ride on his back. Being able to travel on her own. Katherine couldn't wait to learn how to travel on her own!

Soon they where flying over city's, freezing power lines, water fountains, roads, and windows. They watched kids get their tongue stuck to poles and people slip on ice. It was very amusing to both Katherine and Jack, in fact it was soo funny Katherine nearly fell off Jacks back. It only made her laugh harder as she struggled to keep from falling off.

Jack let Katherine hop off his back by a frozen lake by his home village of Burgess. Katherine doubled over, still laughing. She didn't get to see the outside world very much, so it was amusing to her how the kids played. It took Katherine a moment to stop laughing, she had never laughed so much in her entire life. Well, she had, but not over such a silly thing.

Jack was very amused at Katherine. He saw the magic of childhood fresh and alive in her eyes. He chuckled and shook his head.

"Ready to learn something new?" Jack asked as Katherine had completely calmed herself. Her eyes light up, though she was on a break from learning she couldn't surpass such an offer.

"Haha, Jack do you not know me yet?" Katherine joked. Jack grinned and rolled his eyes.

"I don't know. Maybe I do, maybe I don't." Jack shrugged, sneaking a quick smirk at Katherine.

"So what am I learning?" Katherine asked as she returned the quick smirk.

"I guess I don't need to teach you how to have fun considering you almost killed yourself laughing. Hmm, I was thinking a beginner lesson on how to manipulate the ice. Sound good?" Jack knew it sounded good to Katherine by the way she almost exploded with anticipation. Katherine had always dreamed of learning how to use Jack's powers. She never expected Jack to teach her so early though.

"Does it sound good? No. It sounds exquisite!" Katherine couldn't help but giggle at Jack's face when she said "no". He looked like he had been slapped, but he just playfully glared at Katherine when she finished her sentence. He shook his head and went to grab something from behind a tree.

It was a staff, a bit smaller than Jack's. It had almost the same design and everything. "You will start off with this. It helps you focus the energy, and how to manipulate it. As you advance, which I'm sure shouldn't take too long, you will be able to use the powers without a staff." Jack handed Katherine the staff.

Katherine twirled it in her hands, testing its features. She looked carefully at the designs and found an in scripture. Written up the side of the staff in elvish was the phrase "I believe."

"I'm guessing you had a little help making the staff?" Katherine shot Jack a side ways glance.

"Ha, yea. North is the best at creating stuff though. So I asked for a little favor." Jack brushed his hand through his hair remembering how much trouble it was trying to get North to cooperate. North said Katherine was to young to start learning, but somehow Jack convinced him.

"I absolutely love it!" Katherine exclaimed as she hugged Jack tight around the middle. Katherine only came up to about Jack's chest, so it was so simple to just bear hug Jack. Jack bent down and hugged Katherine back, picking her up and twirling her in the air. Katherine laughed as Jack gently set her down.

"So, you ready for a little lesson?" Jack asked, nudging Katherine's shoulder. Katherine rolled her eyes and smirked at Jack.

"I'm always ready." Katherine remarked, sneaking a sly smile.

"Good! Lets begin shall we? First you will have to learn to find the energy and focus it. Once you get the hang of it, it comes naturally." Jack explained as he gently tapped his staff on the bank of the lake, creating multiple designs one the ice.

Katherine thought to how each individual thing had it's own magic to it. She could feel the magic behind the snow and ice. She tried to center that feeling into her body and out through her hands and into the staff. A tiny bit of frost appeared on the staff from where Katherine was holding it. Katherine touched the staff to the edge of the lake and tiny designs formed around it.

The frost that Katherine created was only half the size and quality of Jack's, but it was still impressive for someones first time. Jack was really impressed with Katherine. He laughed as he pumped his fists into the air.

"There you go! Try again!" Jack encouraged.

Katherine let the feelings consume her again, and focused it once more into herself letting it run through her into the staff. This time Katherine almost matched Jack's design. They both whooped and punched the air.

"Ha! And to think North said you where to young to learn. We'll show him." Jack laughed. He stopped for a moment, thinking about something that would be great fun. "Hey, do you want to go do something fun?"

"When would I ever not?" Katherine asked giving Jack a pointed look. Jack shrugged and tossed Katherine back onto his back.

Katherine laughed as she struggled to hold onto Jack as he flew fast through the late evening sky. The sun was starting to set on the horizon, which made where Jack was heading even better. Jack landed on a beach in the middle of nowhere, it was just Jack and Katherine.

"Freezing the crashing waves is probably one of my most favorite things to do. Plus it would be great practice for you." Jack pointed out.

So Katherine and Jack walked on the beach until the sun had fully set, freezing waves and telling story's together. It was probably the most relaxing,fun thing that she had ever done. She was never able to be so relaxed around the Guardians, only with Jack and sometimes Sandy. They always expected so much from her, and it was a bit much sometimes. It was nice to just hang out.

North was a bit angry at how late Katherine was returned home, but shrugged it off. Katherine had a renewed light in her eyes that he had never seen before. Katherine was truly happy that night. She was even happy in her dreams, dreaming of flying by Jack's side and freezing the crashing waves. It was a fun day Katherine had to admit, she looked forward to playing with Jack again the next day.

_Chapter 5_

_(6 years later)_

Katherine had finally turned twelve, and once again Pitch stood in the shadows watching his daughter play with the new presents the Guardians had gave her. Pitch wanted nothing more than to come out of the shadows and hug his daughter, but of course he couldn't. Not yet. He had made a promise to Elaine , and he had to keep it.

Pitch despised the Guardians more than ever. They kept Katherine as far from the truth as possible, and even farther from Pitch. They had taught Katherine almost everything they knew, but nothing of Pitch and Elaine. It angered Pitch. Katherine was almost at the age where she should be able to choose whom she wants to live with, but if she doesn't even know who her parents are than how could she ever choose. It was rather annoying, but it would soon come to bite the Guardians right where it hurt.

Pitch could no longer stand the sight of Katherine, it was to much to bear. So shook his head and disappeared back into the shadows. But before he left he stop'd in Katherine's room and left a package on her bed. Pitch always left a birthday gift for Katherine, even though she never knew who they were from it still comforted Pitch to make sure Katherine felt loved.

Katherine always felt loved, especially when she found the shadowy package on her bed. There was always a note on it that said, "I will always love you." Katherine wanted to find out who kept leaving the packages for her on her birthday, but no matter how hard she tried she could never seem to come any closer to finding out.

This year the package contained an enchanting black leather bound journal with a dragon carved into it, and a black calligraphy pen with Katherine's initials inscribed on it with silver. Katherine looked over the detailed dragon, it was her favorite animal besides a phoenix. But the initials in silver stumped her. The initials were K.P. But Katherine didn't know her last name. She only knew her first since she never knew who her parents were.

_"Whoever gave this to me must know who I really am." _Katherine thought. Know she really had to find out who kept giving her such glorious gifts. But it would have to wait until next year. She would plan to hide in her room and watch for whoever comes in there.

So Katherine pushed the plan to the back of her head and started to write in the journal. She would use the journal as a story book for her day dreams, it was what she had always wanted. It put a tiny smile on Pitch to see his daughter enjoying his gift as much as she did. If she wasn't studying or reading then she was writing in her journal. No one seemed to notice that Katherine had a new journal or pen, they just assumed she found another journal in North's office.

But today Sandy planned to take Katherine out for a night and let her practice her dreams. Katherine had already learned how to create and wield the dream sand, but she rarely got the chance to practice using it. So she quickly put on a long flowing golden dress with a black and silver corset and raced out of her room to meet Sandy. She always had to put on the right type of clothing for certain activity's, it made the magic flow easier to Katherine. Katherine found Sandy and Jack waiting for her in the living room by the fire.

"Jack? What are you doing here?" Katherine asked as she walked over to Jack.

"I'm just here to watch." Jack mused as he looked Katherine up and down. He was stunned by her beauty. She looked and acted rather mature for her age, like she could pass for sixteen.

"Oh okay." Katherine chimed, she kinda liked the idea of having Jack by her side. "You ready Sandy?"

Sandy nodded and with one swift movement he was flying in his little plane out of the workshop. Katherine and Jack exchanged a glance and quickly flew after Sandy. Jack had already taught Katherine how to manipulate and control the wind so that she would be able to fly. It made traveling a lot easier for everyone now that they didn't have to carry Katherine around everywhere.

Katherine and Jack laughed as they flew beside Sandy in his cute plane. Sandy led them to the village Katherine was most familiar with, Burgess. Sandy stopped in mid air right above the town square and created a little soft cloud of dream sand that allowed him to stand on. Katherine gently landed on the golden cloud by Sandy while Jack went and covered the village in snow and ice.

"Tonight you will be giving good dreams to a few individuals, and then you shall meet me back here when you feel ready." Sandy explained threw sign language. Katherine nodded and flew off to the nearest house that had a sleeping child in it.

Katherine already knew the child, it was Jamie Bennett. Jack had introduced Katherine to Jamie and his friends years ago while they were playing outside in the snow. He was a fantastic child who was the first to believe in Jack, and he was very fun to play with as Katherine recalled. So Katherine made an extra special dream for Jamie. She made a dream where there were endless snow days and Jack Frost was there to play with him and his friends every day.

Jamie seemed to enjoy the dream as he laughed in his sleep. Katherine felt accomplished and quickly moved on to the next child. Half of the people that Katherine visited she had never seen before. But now and then she would run into one of Jamie's friends like Cupcake or Pippa. Katherine thoroughly enjoyed watching the children smile and sometimes laugh in there sleep. It was no wonder Sandy loved dreams so much.

But right before Katherine was about to head back to Sandy she came upon something strange. Katherine saw a black sand above the child's head where the dream sand should be. The child was frantic and had silent tears streaming down her eyes. Katherine had only heard of this, it was what Sandy called a nightmare. Sandy never really explained what to do with a nightmare or where they came from, but Katherine had to do something. So she quickly formed a good dream and watched it fight the nightmare. It didn't take long for the dream to take over the nightmare, within a minute it was gone and had been transformed into a good dream.

However this caught Pitch's attention. Very rarely did anyone purify his nightmares, and the only person who could have done that was Sandy. Pitch smirked, finally he had an excuse to attack one of the Guardians he hated most. So Pitch quickly slipped into the shadows and sought out the Sandman. Pitch traveled to the room were his nightmare had just been destroyed, and what he found surprised him. It was not Sandy, but Katherine who had purified his nightmare.

"Katherine?" Pitch breathed. Katherine gasped and spun around to find Pitch standing over her.

"Who are you?" Katherine forced herself to ask. She felt intimidated by the tall figure towering above her, but yet she didn't feel as scared as she probably should be. But before Pitch even had the chance to respond, Jack came flying into the room.

"Katherine, get out of here." Jack ordered as he stood in front of her, blocking her from Pitch.

"Why? Who is he?" Katherine argued.

"Katherine, I said go!" Jack shouted back at Katherine. Katherine suppressed a growl and shot out of the window, looking back at the familiar figure. She recognized his face, but from where?

"She will find out one day you know." Pitch sneered at Jack.

"Not if I can help it." Jack snapped. "Now leave."

Pitch growled at Jack and sent him flying out of the window with a blast of nightmare sand. "When will you Guardians realize that she will find out who she really is one day!" Pitch fumed as he slipped out of another shadow and shot another blast of black sand at him.

"Oh shut up! Like we would allow Katherine to be with such a monster as you." Jack retorted as he dogged the blast of sand by an inch. He quickly shot into the sky and sent an icy blast at Pitch. Katherine watched from Sandy's cloud as ice and black sand went flying everywhere. Sandy forced Katherine to stay there as he went to join the fight.

"You fool. Do you really think you will be able to keep my daughter from me?" Pitch scoffed as he deflected another blow, sending more ice and black sand everywhere. Before Pitch could send another blast at Jack a golden whip wrapped around Pitch's right hand and threw him into the building beside him. Pitch groaned as he hit the building and fell to the street. He growled when he saw Sandy and Jack walking towards him with their fists balled.

Pitch jumped to his feet. It was time for him to leave before things got too out of hand. He quickly looked around and saw Katherine staring down at the scene from Sandy's cloud. He nodded his head at Katherine, and to his surprise she nodded back. With one quick sneer at Sandy and Jack he quickly slipped into the shadows and returned back to his cave. Jack and Sandy quickly returned to Katherine who was still waiting for them in the cloud like Sandy had told her to.

"Who was that?" Katherine asked as they returned.

"No one you need to concern yourself with." Jack replied putting his hand on Katherine's shoulder.

"But he knew my name." Katherine went on. Katherine knew Jack was hiding something, and she wanted to find out. Sandy and Jack shared a glance, and both nodded to each other.

"We will explain later, but for now lets finish your training." Jack answered and turned Katherine back over to Sandy.

For the rest of that night Sandy kept Katherine close to him and had Jack looking out for any signs of Pitch. Katherine continued to send streams of dream sand out across the sky and into the rooms of sleeping children along with Sandy. It was a lot easier and faster this way to just send streams and let them do there work. When Katherine grew a little bored she experimented and made the streams form into dragons or pheonixs and watched them frolic through the sky and play with the other streams.

Sandy and Jack found it funny to watch Katherine create random animal with the dream sand. Sandy even joined in on the fun and created a flying Pegasus that played and raced with a dragon or two. Even Jack created a tiny wolf made out of snow that raced along with the animals. All three of them laughed and joked around creating new animals to race with.

By the end of the day almost everyone had forgotten about the earlier events. But it was still fresh in Katherine's mind, and she couldn't wait until Jack would explain who the mysterious man was. She thought about it so much that the mysterious man was even in her dreams that night. She relived the entire encounter again and again that night and by the time she woke up it had felt like a year, and she couldn't contain her curiosity any longer.

_Chapter 6_

"Jack, common! You said you would explain." Katherine begged Jack.

"Fine, alright. Common and I will explain." Jack groaned as he took Katherine's hand and led her to the living room. Katherine could feel a blush rising into her cheeks, but she quickly suppressed it. Katherine jumped onto one of the couches opposite to the fire and waited for Jack to start explaining. But Jack wasn't completely sure how to explain who Pitch is.

"Well..." Katherine insisted.

"Um, well it's a bit hard to explain." Jack began as he ran his hands threw his hair. "The man you saw was Pitch Black, or the Bogyman. He is our number one enemy and the greatest threat to the Guardians."

"Why?" Katherine interrupted.

"Why? Because he steals every good dream he comes across and replaces it with misery and despair, and when he does that it threatens us as well as the children. He will do anything to make sure there is nothing but fear, and darkness in the world and I mean _anything_. It is why he is soo dangerous, and it's why we don't want you near him." Jack ranted.

Katherine didn't really know what to think of this new information. She felt like there was something more to Pitch than Jack had told her. But she wouldn't press Jack on the matter, it was the most information she had ever gotten about Pitch. So she was grateful enough already. But there was only one thing left she had to ask.

"How does he know my name?" Katherine asked. Jack seemed to hesitate for a little bit on the question.

"Pitch knows everyone's greatest fears, and if he really cares enough he might occasionally learn there name as well." Jack replied waving his hand in the air as if the matter was of no importance. "Does that answer all of your questions?"

"Yes, thank you." Katherine chimed. She didn't want to bother Jack about Pitch anymore, she could tell it was a touchy subject. But why?

"Good. Now hurry up, or breakfast will get cold." Jack grabbed Katherine's hand again and pulled her to her feet, her long red and black dress flowing her.

Katherine had almost forgot about breakfast, she hadn't really been hungry for the past couple days. But she had to force something down to keep her strength up. Katherine laughed as Jack threw her onto his back and flew into the dinning room were North sat finishing up his breakfast.

"You are here so often it's almost like having a second child to take care of." North joked as Jack and Katherine sat down. "What were you two doing anyway?"

Jack waited a moment before answering, making sure North was in the right mood to be told of the recent events. "It was Pitch, he caused a little commotion last night while Sandy was teaching Katherine. Katherine wanted to know who he was, so I went ahead and told her the basics. I figured she was old enough to know by now." Jack explained, hoping north wouldn't jump to conclusions.

North's expression turned grim, he didn't like the news. "So he is starting to come back out of the shadows huh?" North stopped for a moment, as if deciding on something. "Then I think we should start to teach Katherine how to defend herself against the evil at hand if it ever becomes a problem."

"Agreed." Jack nodded and then took a bite of his ham.

But Katherine was lost all together. _"Why would I need to defend myself? What are they hiding from me?"_ Katherine pondered. It was starting to become rather annoying. She hated having information kept from her.

"North, do you have any books on Pitch? I mean, so I know what I'm up against in case anything happens." Katherine asked. It was a risky thing to ask, and the answer was probably no but Katherine had to ask.

North and jack shared a glance. There was only one book in history that contained any information about Pitch, the ones that the original Katherine wrote when she was young. They were North's most treasured items that held the most fond memories of his youth. But they held some dangerous information that could lead to Katherine finding out who her parents were.

Katherine had a good point though. If she was ever going to defend herself against Pitch and fight the evil she would have to know exactly what they are capable of.

"Yes my dear, in fact I do. After you have finished eating I will get the books for you." North replied after a long silence. Katherine's face light up with the brightest smile and instantly started to shovel her breakfast down.

Jack began to become worried though. He remembered what Pitch had said the other night while fighting him. _"She will find out one day... You cannot keep my daughter from me."_ Pitch's words echoed throughout his mind. Jack was afraid that Pitch was right, that Pitch would take Katherine from him.

As soon as Katherine had finished her breakfast she sprang to her feet and pulled North to his. "Calm down Katherine, give an old man a minute." North laughed. Katherine followed North to his office library like a dog follows his master.

"Know Katherine, these books are very special and dear to me. They were written by a young girl very similar to you, as you will find out. Take care of them, and return them when you are done." North told Katherine as he pulled out a set of dusty books from a hidden compartment in his drawer and handed it to Katherine.

"I promise I will." Katherine promised as she looked at the old books in awe. They were covered in the most fantastic drawings she had ever seen, and had amazing penmanship. She saw the authors name was Katherine. Just Katherine. "Who is Katherine? Why doesn't she have a last name?" Katherine asked. Never had she seen an author with no last name.

"Read, and you will find out." North answered with a smile. "No spoilers." Katherine smiled and instantly ran off to her little room in the library and started to read the first book.

"Are you alright Jack?" North asked eyeing Jack's sullen expression.

"Huh? Oh, yes... and no." Jack began. "I'm worried about Katherine. Pitch warned that she would find out one day about who she really is, and i'm starting to think that his words are coming true."

"I fear your right Jack. All we can do is try to keep her away from Pitch as much as possible and steer her in the right direction." North sighed. He didn't want Katherine to leave him either. After all these years he had grown to love the little child like his own, and had never planned for her to leave.

"There has to be something we can do." Jack ranted.

"Maybe there is... We will call the others together shortly and discuss what can be done." North mused as he started to think of any solution to this mess. Jack nodded and flew off. He wanted to be alone to think, besides there were still kids who needed a snow day about now.

_Chapter 7_

"Thank you all for coming." North began. "But as you know we have a bit of a problem. As Katherine grows older, and discovers more and more about Pitch she will soon find out whom she really is. Weather on her on, or if Pitch takes a stand and reveals who he is to her."

"Is there no way to stop it?" Toothina asked. She feared the day when Katherine would find out who she truly was. She loved Katherine as a daughter, and in fact treated her like her own. It would break her heart if Katherine left.

"I'm afraid not. For Pitch will not allow us to keep his daughter from him forever." North spoke gravely.

"That's why we called you here today. We need a plan to steer her in the right direction, so that when she does find out she will choose to stay with us and not go into harms way." Jack interrupted.

"Scare her straight." Bunnymund suggested.

"Tell her why her mother left her with us?" Toothina added.

"Or we-" Bunnymund began, but before he could finish a loud ringing came from behind them. It was Sandy trying to get their attention by shaking an elf.

"Oh, sorry mate. Go on." Bunnymund apologized.

Sandy shook his head in frustration, the only bad thing about being the Sandman was the inability to speak. Sandy then pointed his head where he created an image of the moon with his dream sand.

"Ask Manny?" North asked. Sandy furiously nodded his head and turned to the sky roof where the moon was patiently waiting. "Well, Manny. What should we do?"

Suddenly a blinding light filled the room, casting dancing shadows everywhere. But then the light died down and an image of Katherine appeared on the floor in front of them. It showed her growing older, but not by much. Then the crystal that showed when Tsar had chosen a new Guardian arose, and gave the image of the older Katherine.

"Make Katherine a Guardian!" Toothina exclaimed in disbelief. "But why?"

"Will she be ready for that kind of responsibility?" Jack added.

"_I_ think I understand what Manny is trying to tell us. If we make Katherine into a Guardian she would really not have a choice but to be with us. Besides, Pitch despises Guardians and would there for leave her alone." North acknowledged. The moon beam flashed in response as if saying "Yes!"

Sandy gave an enthusiastic thumbs up to the idea, and Bunnymund slowly nodded in agreement. Though he was still not completely sure it would be a good idea.

"But wouldn't that be taking away her free will?" Jack asked. He didn't like the idea too much of forcing Katherine to be someone who she might not want to be.

"It would. But it would probably be for the best." Bunnymund admitted. He didn't like taking away a young girls free will, but something had to be done to keep her from being tainted like Pitch.

"Then it's settled. We will try our best to steer Katherine away from Pitch, and when the time is right we shall make her Guardian!" North beamed. He considered himself like a father to Katherine. It was so exciting to him to see Katherine grow up to be a Guardian, he was so proud already.

Everyone nodded in agreement and instantly departed. They would have liked to stay longer, but they did have work to do. Like Toothina had said once, "We don't all work one night a year you know."

* * *

While the Guardians were having there meeting Katherine was engrossed in the book that North had lent her. She was just finishing up the last of the first book where North had officially joined the fight against Pitch Black. Katherine was very surprised at how skinny and furious North used to be. He had a short, hot temper. But the imagination of a thousand children combined.

Katherine was thrilled to finally find out who Ombric was and his story, even though she had read almost every last book about him and his works. She loved that he had taken in the young girl named Katherine the same as her. Katherine was especially fond of the Katherine in the book. She was just like her, abandoned by her parents, and left as an orphan. Though she never had the chance to play with kids the same age as her as often as the other Katherine did.

Katherine was even more enthralled when she got to read about Pitch, and how he had been trapped by Nightlight. She couldn't decide weather or not she liked Pitch or not. He nearly killed Ombric and North, and tried to turn Katherine into his darkling daughter. He even turned turned people into dolls and gave them the most tormenting nightmares. The fearlings scared her a little to know that they were real, but at the same time interesting.

Katherine couldn't wait to see what happened next. It was the best page turner she had ever read in her life! As soon as she finished the first book she instantly picked up the next one. But before she could begin Jack flew into the room, snatching the book up and laying it down on the table.

"You do know there is more to this world than just reading." Jack grinned.

"Yea, yea. I know." Katherine groaned.

"Toothina asked me to fetch you and bring you to her palace. It is her week you know." Jack pointed out as he held out a hand for Katherine.

"Oh! I almost forgot." Katherine exclaimed as she excepted Jacks hand and rushed on out, grabbing her staff as she went. She would need it if she wished to fly on her own.

"Ready?" Jack asked, a playful smile spreading across his face.

"I was going to ask you the same thing." Katherine smirked as she took off, leaving Jack in the dust.

"Hey!" Jack laughed as he took off after her. "That's not fair!"

Katherine laughed as she watched Jack catch up with her. She knew the way to Toothina's palace by now, so it didn't matter who was leading the way. Though they always made traveling into a race. Usually jack would win due to his many years of experience, but sometimes Katherine would win by the skin of her teeth.

As Katherine flew slight sprinkles of snow would fall from her pine colored dress. frost slowly inched it's way up the hems of her dress and her corset. Jack thought it to be rather magical, and made her outfit look more stunning than it already was. The way her raven hair danced and glinted in the sun was just captivating. Jack knew then he could never let Pitch take her away, for he loved Katherine way to much to let that happen.

"I win!" Katherine cheered as she landed softly on one of the platforms of Toothina's palace.

"Only because you got a head start." Jack protested.

"Haha, yea that's why." Katherine smirked.

"Ah, there you are Katherine!" Toothina chimed as she flew down to meet the two.

"Sorry I'm late Tooth. I got distracted by my books again." Katherine apologized, putting both her hands behind her back as if she was guilty.

"Thank you Jack for fetching her." Toothina smiled at Jack as she took Katherine by the shoulders.

"No problem, my pleasure." Jack smiled as he leaned against his staff. "Well, i'll be off. I know you have some teaching to do today."

"By Jack!" Both Toothina and Katherine exclaimed as they waved by to Jack. He smiled at them and then took off, leaving a flurry of snow behind as he did.

Katherine and Toothina flew up back to the main platform in her palace where Toothina conducted most of her work. Tiny fairies flew everywhere, getting coins and putting away teeth they had just collected. From time to time a fairy or two would come up and ask Toothina something and she would instruct them on what to do. Katherine always found it a tad overwhelming, but all the same amazing that Toothina could keep up with everything.

"So whats in store for today?" Katherine asked as she propped herself up on her staff.

"Today is something very special. You will be learning how to use the ancient relic!" Toothina revealed as one of the fairies brought the golden box that contained the ruby tooth.

Toothina opened the box and pulled out the tooth with such delicacy you thought the tooth was made of a very fragile glass. She handed it to Katherine who held it with the same delicacy and basked ion the magic she saw emanating from it.

"With this you will be able to recall any memory from any tooth you wish. I use it when anyone is on the verge of giving up on life, when they need to remember what is important in life. That there will be more happy times to come, and that life is really worth it." Toothina explained. "You would be surprised how often I actually have to use it."

Katherine didn't know how to really respond. She had known about the relic, and what it does. But she had never really grasped the thought of how many lives this relic has saved. How many people that Toothina helps, how many lives that she has helped by taking their hand and pulled them away from the point of breaking.

"In fact, there is one right now that needs help. A young girl who doesn't know what good is left in the world. She want's to give up, but she just needs to remember that there is more to life." As Toothina was explaining the situation one of toothina's fairies brought over one of the memory boxes and handed them to me.

"What do I do?" Katherine asked. She wasn't sure how the relic worked.

"Just let the magic do it's work." Toothina answered as she closed Katherine's hand around the relic.

Katherine closed her eyes and let the magic of the relic fill her. She could see the chills memories, all of them. Good and bad. Katherine choose the good ones that would help most and the memory box started to shine bright. Toothina smiled a wide smile. Katherine was actually doing it, she was showing the young girl what was important in life.

When Katherine opened her eyes Toothina gave her a huge bear hug. "You did it!" Toothina exclaimed.

"I did?" Katherine asked as she began to grin.

"Yes! You now know how to work the relic. If you ever find a child who is suffering, you now know how to help them and bring them back into the light." Toothina beamed.

Katherine felt a happy bubbling feeling inside her. A new excitement that she could actually help people who were depressed and needed help. So for the entire day she helped ever person who became sullen and needed a reminder that the world was good and that life was worth living. She had never felt so good. It was sad that soo many people were sad these days, but as long as Toothina and Katherine were there they would be there to help them no matter what and bring them out of the dark and into the light.

By the time Katherine had finished and flown back to the pole by herself she had never been so exhausted. She skipped dinner and instantly plopped down onto her bed, not even bothering to change out of her dress. She wrapped her arms around her pillow and instantly fell asleep.

North checked in on her when she didn't show up for dinner and found her passed out on her bed. He chuckled and pulled the cover over her, kissing her on the head goodnight. He turned the light off and left Katherine to sleep. North found it hard to watch Katherine grow up so fast, just like the Katherine from many years before. Even watching Elaine grow up was hard. But since Katherine was immortal she would stop growing up eventually, and save North the pain of watching her grow old.

But no one even thought for a second how painful it was for Pitch to watch Katherine grow up. He was missing out on Katherine's child hood, he could only watch from a distance as his child grew up without him. But that would all change one day, weather the Guardians wanted it to or not. He would make sure of it.

_Chapter 8_


End file.
